Mercedes 'Closely Monitoring' Upgrades for F1 2026

As reported by Autosport, Toto Wolff has revealed that Mercedes will bring more upgrades in the second half of the 2026 Formula 1 season, but the team is 'closely monitoring' when to introduce them. This decision comes amid intense competition with Ferrari and McLaren, who have been more aggressive with their development.

At the start of this new regulation cycle, Mercedes won the opening six grands prix from pole position, but then 'only' won two of the next five races. This was due to rivals being more aggressive with their upgrade packages, as seen in Miami and Barcelona.

Wolff even questioned how Ferrari could bring substantial packages to Miami and Barcelona under the $215 million cost cap. Meanwhile, Mercedes' only major upgrade came in Canada, with the focus otherwise on gradual, smaller updates.

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“We need to be really just strategic about when to bring the upgrades,” said Wolff in Hungary. “We are closely monitoring how much we can bring and at the moment cost cap wise we're in a good spot. We've tried to have it a little bit more second half of the season, waited - and let's see if that's enough.”

However, there is one caveat to the plan: the expected grid penalties for Kimi Antonelli and George Russell as they approach the limit for engine usage across a season. Antonelli and Russell are on their fourth and third new engines respectively for 2026, and a fifth incurs a 10-place grid drop.

Deputy team principal Bradley Lord added, “Looking at how many we've used in the first half of the season, it's almost inevitable that at some point there will be penalties to take. That's something that the strategy team and guys in Brixworth will work to figure out what the optimum route is through the rest of the season.”